PARMA, Ohio – Many teenagers hope to become stars.
But when one visited Normandy High today, Arden Anastasi had to belt out loud.
“We’re each going to be each singing for Mr. Cangelosi,” said Arden, a senior at Normandy. “He’ll be telling us what we can improve upon, what we’re doing well, just to prepare us for a future in music.”
Arden was one of dozens of students from Normandy, Valley Forge and Parma Senior High participating in a music workshop with opera singer David Cangelosi.
She was among eight students to perform in front of him—something she got to do when he visited last year.
“I needed to work on my breath control, which I’m still having a problem with, so I’m sure I’ll hear that again today, and with fidgeting,” she said. “It’s fantastic he wants to come back and give back to the school that he came from. I think he’s a great role model.”
Cangelosi, a 1981 Normandy alum, has become an international opera sensation in the past 30 years, performing in movies and in opera houses around the world.
He attributes much of his success to his hometown of Parma, where his parents still live.
“This is where I got all my musical training,” Cangelosi said. “This is where I got all my theatrical training. It’s what gave me the spark to pursue the kind of career I have pursued.”
Cangelosi admits the entertainment business can be grueling, and that many teens don’t have a realistic depiction of the business, especially with reality TV competitions.
“Unlike the fake reality they get on television these days, what they get will be true reality,” he said. “They’re going to like some of it, they’re not going to like some of it. But I promise them that it will all be honest.”
Cangelosi’s parents and some of his high school teachers were there for the one-on-one session, which he hopes to continue, giving back to the very place where he got his start.
“This is one of those moments where someone who has done so very well and been so fortunate as I have, comes back to where he began to give a little something back to a community.”